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The Weekend Warrior
Your Weekly Guide to New Movies for
April 27, 2007
By Edward Douglas -
Greetings and welcome back to the Weekend
Warrior, your weekly guide to the weekend's new movies. Tune in every
Tuesday for the latest look at the upcoming weekend, and then
check
back on
Friday for final projections based on actual theatre counts.
(If you have anything to say about anything
written in this column, feedback and Email is always welcome, and almost always
responded to.)
THE BATTLE CRY!
I wanted to talk about the continued publishing and bad analysis of
tracking by various bloggers this week but that will have to wait because
I wanted to address something more fresh in my mind.
For years, I've been railing against studios that don't screen their movies
for critics and one particular imprint of a major studio has barely screened
any of their movies in nearly two years but has had incredible success
regardless. It's probably not that big a secret that I'm talking about
Sony's genre imprint Screen Gems who has gotten into the habit of holding
off of any press or critics' screenings until opening day, even holding
off on doing any interviews until as close to release as possible. Still,
their movies tend to do really well like Stomp the Yard which was
#1 two weeks in a row and The Messengers, which followed, as well
as last year's remake of When a Stranger Calls.
Apparently, there's no winning, because their previous hesitance about
the potential of early negative reviews, they screened Vacancy to
critics and reviews were actually decent, ending up around 55% Fresh from 71 reviews
after the weekend, but higher last week. I've always contended that if
you show critics your movies in a way that makes it easier for them to
do their job, they're more likely to view it with an open mind. Having
to see a horror or action movie early on a Friday morning then scrambling
home or to the office to get a review up is not conducive to being in the
type of mindset that's right for reviewing a horror film, which really
needs to see in the company of a large rowdy audience.
On the one hand, I was right in that showing horror movies to critics isn't
always a bad idea, but in this case, getting good reviews didn't even remotely
help the movie, because nobody really went to see the movie this past weekend.
An $8 million opening weekend for a horror movie with two name stars including
Screen Gems' golden child Kate Beckinsale is not good, and it shows that
even if you do release an okay horror movie with support from the critics,
moviegoers won't care.
The irony is that one of my colleagues recently pointed out how DreamWorks' Disturbia is
very much a Screen Gems type movie, being a similar PG-13 horror movie as Screen
Gems' regular output, and it seems that those similarities managed to scupper
Screen Gems' own attempt at proving their dominance in the horror game. Then
again, it could just have been a matter of there being way too much horror competition
in the market already, making it a bad time to release Vacancy, but it
proves that there's really no winning and we'll have to go back to the drawing
board in regards to the whole negative reviews vs. no reviews at all.
THE WEEKEND PREDICTIONS: (update 4.26.07)
|
TW |
LW |
Title |
Weekend (in millions) |
Change |
# Of Theaters |
Average |
Week |
|
1 |
New |
Next |
$11.8 |
N/A |
2,725 |
$4,330 |
1 |
|
2 |
1 |
Disturbia |
$8.2 |
-37% |
3,047 |
$2,691 |
3 |
|
3 |
New |
The Condemned |
$7.8 |
N/A |
2,310 |
$3,377 |
1 |
|
4 |
2 |
Fracture |
$6.6 |
-40% |
2,443 |
$2,702 |
2 |
|
5 |
New |
The Invisible |
$6.2 |
N/A |
2,050 |
$3,071 |
1 |
|
6 |
3 |
Blades of Glory |
$4.8 |
-38% |
3,056 |
$1,571 |
5 |
|
7 |
New |
Kickin' It Old Skool |
$4.6 |
N/A |
1,813 |
$2,537 |
1 |
|
8 |
5 |
Meet the Robinsons |
$4.5 |
-38% |
2,461 |
$1,747 |
5 |
|
9 |
6 |
Hot Fuzz |
$4.2 |
-28% |
1,272 |
$3,302 |
2 |
|
10 |
4 |
Vacancy |
$3.9 |
-50% |
2,551 |
$1,490 |
2 |
| |
|
|
Est. Weekend Total
$62.30 |
Est. Avg. Drop-Off
-39% |
|
Est. Average PTA
$2,682 |
|
They say it's always darkest before the dawn, and we can only hope that's
true, because after a deadly slow weekend at the box office last week, it's
likely to get worse as April comes to a close with what is officially the
first true dumping ground of the year. After all, with Sony's Spider-Man
3 opening next week, few of the movies currently in theatres will be
kept on many screens after next Wednesday, and this is a weekend to clear
out all the pre-summer trash.
After being put into turnaround (read: dumped) by Sony, the Revolution
Studios sci-fi action thriller Next, starring Nicolas Cage, Julianne
Moore and Jessica Biel, is being released this weekend by Paramount with
very little fanfare, and yet, with the other new options this weekend,
it shouldn't have a problem topping the box office with a fairly low weekend
gross. That would allow Paramount to end the month of April having dominated
with five consecutive weeks at #1. Their thriller Disturbia should
continue to be strong in second place without much competition from the
other new movies.
David (Blade: Trinity) Goyer's The Invisible is a bit of
a departure from his superhero fare, but it offers more of the type of
thriller-like fare that's been saturating the market for all of April,
so it'll probably wind up somewhere behind the new "Stone Cold" Steve Austin's
action flick The Condemned, which will be of interest to WWE wrestling
fans and few others.
Malibu's Most Wanted star Jamie Kennedy revives the '80s break-dancing
craze in the retro-comedy Kickin' It Old Skool, which could appeal
to a younger audience that might want something other than horror movies
and thrillers, but with a moderate theatre count and very little promotion,
it's likely to end up near the bottom of the Top 10.
Last year, the end of April wasn't nearly as bad with three movies opening
with more than $10 million, the weekend being won by Sony's road comedy RV,
starring Robin Williams, which blasted into over 3,600 theatres with $16.4
million. Paul Greengrass' controversial 9/11 drama United 93 opened
in second with $11.5 million in half as many theatres, followed by the
Disney gymnastics comedy Stick It in third with $10.8 million. Lionsgate
opened the spelling bee drama Akeelah and the Bee in over 2,000
theatres, but it only wound up with $6 million, while the returning films
all took fairly substantial plunges. The Top 10
THE CHOSEN ONE(S):
I just couldn't make a decision this week cause there were two movies finally
opening here after playing in festivals last year. The movies couldn't be much
more different, so I couldn't even tie them together or use some form of excuse
for having two choices this week except that they're both movies that are worth
seeing.
 SNOW CAKE (IFC First
Take)
Starring Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, Carrie-Anne Moss, Emily Hampshire, James
Allodi
Directed by Marc Evans (My Little Eye, Resurrection Man, Trauma, Beautiful
Mistake); Written by Angela Pell (debut)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Tagline: "Sometimes stopping is the most important part of the journey…"
Story: Alex Hughes (Alan Rickman) is an ex-convict traveling across Canada who
gives a teen girl a ride, but after a horrible accident kills her, he needs to
track down her relatives to tell them what happened. He winds up in a small Canadian
'burb where he spends time with the girl's autistic mother Linda (Sigourney Weaver)
and her flirtatious next-door neighbor (Carrie-Anne Moss).
With the Tribeca Film Festival opening in New York this week, it's only appropriate
that one of the nicer surprises of last year was this character dramedy from
Welsh director Marc Evans that might very well feature one of Alan Rickman's
finest performance as an actor. In this complex character role, we get to
see him laugh, cry, and show off more emotion than he has in any previous
role. Not only that, but he also sings (!) and has this really sweet romance
with Linda's next-door neighbor Maggie (Carrie-Anne Moss) as he tries to
find closure in his life. Really, if you're a fan of Rickman (and who isn't?)
you're in for a treat! Sigourney Weaver plays the autistic mother of the
girl who died, and true, those kind of roles can be annoying, but the relationship
of this odd couple really makes this a very funny and touching film about
grief and how different people get over it. (It also invents a game called "comic
book Scrabble" which you gotta love!) Marc Evans hasn't had very much luck
in this country with many of his films being released straight-to-DVD, but
working off an amazing first script by Angela Pell, he has created a truly
wonderful movie, so if you don't get a chance to see it at the Cinema Village
in New York or L.A. when it opens on Friday, keep an eye out for it on DVD.
It's recommended if you like Garden State or other quirky dramedies
about real people.
As I said, it couldn't be any more different from this other week's Chosen
One…
 TRIAD ELECTION (Tartan
Films)
Starring Louis Koo, Simon Yam, Ka Tung Lam, Suet Lam, Andy On, Mark Cheng, Nick
Cheung, Mo-Hau Cheung, Siu-Fai Cheung
Directed by Johnnie To (Full Time Killer, Heroic Trio, Election, Running
Out of Time, Throw Down, PTU, Breaking News and many more); Written
by Nai-Hoi Yau and Tin-Shing Yip (frequent To collaborators on PTU, Breaking
News, Throw Down, Black Society and upcoming Exiled)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Tagline: "Even a criminal can serve his country."
Story: Jimmy Woo (Louis Koo) has become a successful Hong Kong businessman due
to his involvement with the Triad organized crime family, but when he's put up
for election as the Chairman of the group, he finds himself into competition
with the current Chairman (Simon Yam), who doesn't want to give up his position.
INTERVIEW (with
Johnnie To)
REVIEW (Coming Soon!)
As a huge fan of Asian cinema and crime films, there are a couple Chinese filmmakers
who really understand the appeal of the genre, John Woo being an early advent
and the Infernal Affairs trilogy that inspired Martin Scorsese's The
Departed being another fine example. Johnnie To has been making movies forever—Heroic
Trio was a personal favorite of mine—but he found his biggest success a few
years ago with Election, which examined the inner workings of the Triad
gangs of Hong Kong, much like Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather trilogy
explored Italian crime families. Like Coppola and Scorsese, To has gotten to
the point where he can assemble some of the best casts of Chinese actors and
many of his recent movies are written by the same two guys and feature the same
actors. While the police movie PTU was a bit dull, To really found his
footing when looking at the other side of the equation, as he has created two
fascinating movies based around the biannual election of a Chairman to one particular
Triad family. While Election deals mainly with Simon Yam's Lok trying
to gain the chairmanship, in Triad Election, it's two years later and
Lok has to fight off the competition rather than giving up the position, as a
young and good-looking businessman named Jimmy, played by actor and pop singer
Louis Koo, must resort to similar tactics to win the election despite wanting
to get out of the life of crime for the sake of his family. I'm hoping to write
a full review of the two films, but what makes them so unique are that they're
more about the characters and their relationships than about the violence. That
said, there's at least one truly horrifying scene in Triad Election that
will shake up even those with the strongest constitutions. It's very much in
the vein of what Coppola and Scorsese have done in their movies and though Triad
Election is clearly the better movie, it's good to try to see Election to
get the full back story.
To's latest import Triad Election will open at New York's Film Forum on Wednesday
April 25 for a two-week run, and you can catch Election, the film's
predecessor, at 3:30 on every day during its run. Recommended if you like The
Departed, Goodfellas, The Godfather trilogy, the Infernal
Affairs trilogy or any of Johnnie To's previous films.
 THE CONDEMNED (Lionsgate)
Starring Steve Austin, Vinnie Jones, Robert Mammone, Victoria Mussett, Rick Hoffman,
Christopher Baker, Samantha Healy, Madeline West, Luke Pegler
Directed by Scott Wiper (debut); Written by Scott Wiper, Rob and Andrew Hedden
(Clockstoppers)
Genre: Action, Thriller
Rated R
Tagline: "10 people will fight. 9 people will die. You get to watch."
Plot Summary: A television producer gathers ten convicted killers currently
on death row and puts them on a deserted island with the edict to kill or be
killed, the survivor gaining their freedom as the event is broadcast on the internet.
American military man Jack Conrad ("Stone Cold" Steve Austin) has been pulled
out of a corrupt Central American prison where he was innocently imprisoned to
take part in this battle to the death against nine other condemned killers.
Of Note: WWE wrestler "Stone Cold" Steve Austin makes his first movie
as a feature star.
REVIEW
INTERVIEW (with
"Stone Cold" Steve Austin)
Analysis: What can you say about a movie that actually has more going for
it and less against it than so many other movies this weekend and yet, by its
very nature, goes so against the fiber of your very being that you can't imagine
that there may actually be people out there willing to pay money to see it? No,
we're not talking about Wild Hogs 2 here, but the third movie from WWE
Films, makers of such classic schlock as See No Evil and The Marine,
which tried to turn wrestlers like Kane and John Cena into serious pseudo-actors.
Usually, movies like these would be released straight-to-DVD, but instead, they
wound up with moderate theatrical success, at least based on how much they must
have cost to make.
It made sense that eventually WWE Films CEO Vince McMahon would get around
to finding a vehicle for the wrestler who used to be one of the WWE's biggest
stars and who already had acting experience under his belt having appeared
on the CBS show "Nash Bridges" in 1999-2000. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin certainly
had a huge fanbase, and he helped to turn the WWF into what it is today,
the WWE, as he fought hard and talked a good game, rarely pulling punches,
physical or verbal, making him the type of athlete who could easily make
the natural transition to action star. Although Austin appeared as one of
the guards in Adam Sandler's remake of The Longest Yard, The Condemned is
his first starring role with a high concept premise that allows Austin to
do what he does best, act tough and fight hard, making it a good match for
wrestling fans who haven't seen Austin in the ring much in recent years.
Considering that Austin's popularity at the height of his wrestling career
was presumably greater than that of Kane and Sena, one should expect that
more people would want to see him in a movie, too.
Austin gets a bit of "help" (and we use the term loosely) from former British
football/soccer player turned actor Vinnie Jones, who is coming off his
role as the Juggernaut in last year's Memorial Day hit X-Men: The Last
Stand after playing mostly British thug stereotypes thanks to his early
work in Guy Ritchie's Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and its
follow-up Snatch. As irony would have it, Jones also starred in
a remake of The Longest Yard, though this one was called Mean
Machine and was set on a soccer pitch, but it didn't do any business
in theatres here.
While the thought of a movie in which Jones and Austin face-off might not
be nearly as big a draw to diehard cinephiles as something like last week's Fracture,
the thought of lots of action and violence certainly will appeal to a certain
demographic of Americans that are likely to also be wrestling fans. Lionsgate
has done well selling action flicks, as seen last year with Jason Statham's Crank,
although Jones' Mean Machine co-star had already built a fanbase
among action fans with The Transporter series. The Condemned will
have the benefits of being promoted on the WWE's popular television shows,
which will raise awareness among the key demographic, plus it received
a prominent MySpace
exclusive trailer which got over 200,000 plays. (That's pretty darn
good.)
Still, the movie's main selling point will be its tagline and concept that
people
will get to "watch them die live", playing to the lowest common dominator theme
of the movie that people will pay lots of money to watch others getting killed.
As we saw with last week's horror film Vacancy, this isn't always the
case, and many moviegoers and wrestling fans might be just as satisfied saving
their money to rent it on DVD. However it does opening day or weekend, expect
it to quickly tank as the summer offers much stronger fare starting next week.
Comparisons:
|
Title |
Release Date |
Theater Count |
Weekend Box Office (in millions) |
Average |
Total Box Office |
|
The Longest Yard |
5/27/05 |
3,634 |
$58.61 |
$16,129 |
$158.12 |
|
The Marine |
10/13/06 |
2,805 |
$7.14 |
$2,805 |
$18.84 |
|
See No Evil |
5/19/06 |
1,257 |
$4.58 |
$3,645 |
$15.00 |
|
Crank |
9/1/06 |
2,515 |
$10.48 |
$4,158 |
$27.84 |
|
X-Men: The Last Stand |
5/26/06 |
3,690 |
$102.75 |
$27,846 |
$234.36 |
|
Eurotrip |
2/20/04 |
2,512 |
$6.71 |
$2,672 |
$17.72 |
|
Snatch |
1/19/01 |
1,444 |
$8.01 |
$5,544 |
$30.09 |
|
Identity |
4/25/03 |
2,733 |
$16.23 |
$5,937 |
$51.48 |
|
Mindhunters |
5/13/05 |
1,040 |
$1.91 |
$1,838 |
$4.48 |
Why I Should See It: You're a really big fan of "Stone Cold" Steve
Austin
or Vinnie Jones, and feel that they can do no wrong.
Why Not: Because watching bad movies over a prolonged period of
time could do damage to brain cells according to 4 out of 5 movie critics.
Projections: $6 to 8 million opening weekend and $16 million total.
 THE INVISIBLE (Hollywood
Pictures)
Starring Justin Chatwin, Marcia Gay Harden, Margarita Levieva, Chris Marquette
Directed by David S. Goyer (Zig Zag, Blade: Trinity, writer of Blade, Blade
II and Dark City, co-writer of Batman Begins); Written by Mick
Davis, Christine Roum (Every Day, Bodyguard II)
Genre: Drama, Suspense, Thriller
Rated PG-13
Tagline: "Life, death and something in between."
Plot Summary: Two teens, Nick Powell (Justin Chatwin) and Annie Newton
(Margarita Levieva), suddenly find that they're invisible to the world around
them, one due to his untimely death and the other due to neglect.
Of Note: Screenwriter David S. Goyer (Blade trilogy) directs this
remake of a Swedish thriller.
Analysis: This week's underdog is this drama-thriller from screenwriter-turned-director
David S. Goyer, best known for his comic adaptations, having written the three Blade movies(directing
the last one Blade: Trinity) and having co-written Christopher Nolan's
successful franchise relaunch Batman Begins. The Invisible is a
pretty big departure in that it's the first movie Goyer directed without writing,
plus it's a remake of a little-known Swedish drama with the catchy title Den
Osynlige. It does have an interesting premise, though, and one that teens
should be able to relate to, going through life without being seen.
Like last month's surprise hit Disturbia, Goyer's film features teen protagonists,
which might make it similarly appealing to teen moviegoers. That said, as interesting
as the premise may be, it just doesn't have the type of stars that could really
sell the movie by getting them onto talk shows. Sure, it has Oscar winner Marcia
Gay Harden, who has co-hosted "The View" and is fairly well known, but she isn't
much of a box office draw, at least not one that makes it worth mentioning or
showing her in the commercials. The star of the film, Justin Chatwin, is best
known for playing Tom Cruise's son Robbie in Steven Spielberg's War of the
Worlds and he's appeared in a few smaller movies like The Chumscrubber since
then. It also stars Christopher Marquette, a funny young actor who played sidekick
roles in The Girl Next Door and Just Friends, as well as more dramatic
fare like the indie American Gun. Again, neither of these guys is going
to be able to do much for the movie in terms of selling it, and even selling
it based on Goyer's involvement doesn't seem like a strong bet, since he hasn't
quite established himself as a director yet.
Oddly, The Invisible was originally going to come out in January,
which might have been a better release date, but it got pushed back to April
so that Disney could release Hollywood Pictures' giant crocodile movie Primeval before
Dimension Films' own crocodile movie. In some ways, this might have allowed The
Invisible to get a bit more promotion to build up awareness before release,
but it also means that it's going to be the sixth thriller released this
month. At least the movie's original R-rating was contested, and getting
a PG-13 will help make it an option for the fickle teen audience, that is
if it's able to snag them away from Disturbia, which many of them
might try seeing again before the start of the summer movie season. The
Invisible does have a cool trailer and commercials that do a good job
selling its premise, but its attempt at a MySpace campaign ala Disney's
teen hit Step Up hasn't really taken off. (Having less than 12,000
friends this close to release isn't great.) While it might be more intelligent
and less derivative than other thrillers currently in theatres, The Invisible doesn't
have enough other elements to make it a significant draw, and opening a week
before the start of the summer doesn't bode well for the movie's long-term
chances in theatres.
Comparisons:
|
Title |
Release Date |
Theater Count |
Previous Box Office (in millions) |
Weekend Box Office (in millions) |
Average |
Total Box Office |
|
Blade: Trinity |
12/10/04 |
2,912 |
$8.42 |
$16.06 |
$5,516 |
$52.40 |
|
Dark City |
2/27/98 |
1,754 |
|
$5.58 |
$3,181 |
$14.38 |
|
The Sixth Sense |
8/6/99 |
2,161 |
|
$26.68 |
$12,346 |
$293.50 |
|
Primeval |
1/12/07 |
2,444 |
|
$6.05 |
$2,475 |
$10.60 |
|
Stay Alive |
3/24/06 |
2,009 |
|
$10.73 |
$5,339 |
$23.09 |
|
The Jacket |
3/4/05 |
1,331 |
|
$2.72 |
$2,046 |
$6.30 |
|
Hollow Man |
8/4/00 |
2,956 |
|
$26.41 |
$8,934 |
$73.21 |
|
War of the Worlds |
7/1/05 |
3,908 |
$35.68 |
$77.06 |
$19,719 |
$233.58 |
Why I Should See It: This looks like an intelligent thriller with an intriguing
premise, much like Goyer's 1998 cult favorite Dark City.
Why Not: If it's so smart, why is it dumb enough to open after three
weeks of stronger thrillers and one week before Spider-Man 3?
Projections: $5 to 7 million opening and $15 million total.
 KICKIN' IT OLD SKOOL (Yari
Film Group)
Starring Jamie Kennedy, Maria Menounos, Christopher McDonald, Miguel Núñez
Jr., Aris Alvarado, Bobby Lee, Debra Jo Rupp, Alan Ruck, Michael Rosenbaum,
Vivica
Fox
Directed by Harvey Glazer (debut from the producer of lots of straight-to-video
movies); Written by Trace Slobotkin (lots of reality TV shows), Josh Siegal and
Dylan Morgan ("Dog Bites Man" and other TV shows)
Genre: Comedy, Dance
Rated PG-13
Tagline: "Break-dancing isn't dead. It's been in a coma."
Plot Summary: Justin Schumacher (Jamie Kennedy) was in a coma for 20 years
after a freak break-dancing accident in high school, but when he wakes up in
the modern-day, he finds out that his high school sweetheart (Maria Menounos)
is engaged to his arch-nemesis. To try to win her back, Justin must reunite his
old break-dance crew for one more battle.
Of Note: Jamie Kennedy returns to the big screen with a comedy that's part Austin
Powers, part 13 Going on 30 and part Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo
Analysis: You have to give Jamie Kennedy some mad props for always bouncing
back. After all, it's been four years since he starred in the hit comedy Malibu's
Most Wanted and about three years since his WB secret camera show "The Jamie
Kennedy Experiment" was cancelled, and yet he's back with another comedy that
allows him to play another clueless white guy trying to be black. The high concept
premise for this one is a bit like Jennifer Garner's 13 Going on 30 with
a bit of Austin Powers fish-out-of-water humor thrown in, and mixed up
with lots of fancy break-dancing moves that might help latch the movie onto the
current dance movie craze.
36-year-old Jamie Kennedy has probably been around a lot longer than most
people realize, but his big break was his role as Randy Meeks in Wes Craven's Scream,
a role he reprised in its sequels. It wasn't until 2002 when Kennedy started
doing his hidden camera sketch show "The Jamie Kennedy Experiment" on the
WB that he started getting serous attention, leading to his starring role
in 2003's Malibu's Most Wanted which did decently over Easter weekend.
After making a cameo in his pal Kal Penn's Harold & Kumar Go To White
Castle, Kennedy had the unenviable task of filling in for Jim Carrey
in the comedy sequel Son of the Mask in 2005, which bombed. Although
Kennedy has been doing regular rounds on MTV and Comedy Central shows like "Wild
'n' Out", Kickin' It Old Skool is his first major movie in two years
and one has to wonder if his fanbase still exists. Kennedy's secret weapon
is likely to be Bobby Lee from "Mad TV" who also appeared in Harold &
Kumar and who has built a fanbase for himself from his work on that show.
Although Kickin' has a funny trailer, most older audiences will
probably think it looks stupid, and it's more likely to appeal to teen
audiences, who'll be able to get in to see it due to its PG-13 rating.
Also working in Kickin's favor is that there's a huge dance movie
craze right now, due to the spectacular dance sequences in movies like Save
the Last Dance and You Got Served leading the way to more recent
flicks like Step Up and Stomp the Yard. Kickin' is
different in that the trailer and commercials are focusing more on the
comedy than the dance moves and that might be its undoing, even if it does
have a funny premise and a couple of solid laughs.
The movie is being distributed by the Yari Film Group, releasing it
into over 1,500 theatres, its widest release to date. Their last wide release, The
Illusionist, was playing in limited release beforehand to build up
word-of-mouth, but you can't really do that with a movie like this, especially
with the big summer movies coming out next week. Oddly, the movie might
have a bit of competition in the B-boy capitol of the world, New York City,
with the Tribeca Film Festival screening
the new documentary Planet B-Boy a few times over the weekend. Maybe
it'll make for a good double feature or more likely, this one will be a
fine DVD rental in a couple months.
Comparisons:
|
Title |
Release Date |
Theater Count |
Weekend Box Office (in millions) |
Average |
Total Box Office |
|
Son of the Mask |
2/18/05 |
2,966 |
$9.10 |
$3,068 |
$17.01 |
|
Malibu's Most Wanted |
4/18/03 |
2,503 |
$12.62 |
$5,041 |
$34.31 |
|
Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle |
7/30/04 |
2,135 |
$5.48 |
$2,567 |
$18.23 |
|
13 Going on 30 |
4/23/04 |
3,438 |
$21.05 |
$6,124 |
$56.04 |
|
Austin Powers |
5/2/97 |
2,187 |
$9.55 |
$4,367 |
$53.82 |
|
Stomp the Yard |
1/12/07 |
2,051 |
$21.83 |
$10,645 |
$61.36 |
|
Step Up |
8/11/06 |
2,467 |
$20.66 |
$8,374 |
$65.33 |
|
You Got Served |
1/30/04 |
1,933 |
$16.12 |
$8,341 |
$40.07 |
Why I Should See It: Because you're a fan of Jamie Kennedy's distinctive
style of humor.
Why Not: Are there really that many break-dancing fans that might shell
out good money for this?
Projections: $3 to 5 million opening weekend and around $10 million total.
 NEXT (Paramount)
Starring Nicholas Cage, Julianne Moore, Jessica Biel, Thomas Kretschmann, Tory
Kittles, José Zúñiga, Jim Beaver, Jason Butler Harner, Michael Trucco, Enzo Cilenti,
Laetitia Danielle, Nicolas Panjon
Directed by Lee Tamahori (Die Another Day, xXx: State of the Union);
Written by Gary Goldman (Total Recall, Navy Seals), Jonathan Hensleigh
(Die Hard: With a Vengeance, The Saint, Armageddon, The Punisher)
Genre: Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Rated PG-13
Tagline: "If you can see the future, you can save it."
Plot Summary: Las Vegas magician Cris Johnson (Nicolas Cage) has a secret,
that he's able to see future events and change their outcome, and the FBI wants
to use that ability to prevent a global threat. It forces Cris on the run as
he tries to decide if he should help them or use his powers to save the woman
he loves (Jessica Biel).
Of Note: Philip K. Dick's 1954 short story "The Golden Man" is adapted
into an action-thriller.
Analysis: It seems like only a year or two ago where I was discussing the
difficulties of adapting Philip K. Dick's stories into movies, and yet we've
seen it done so much, most recently with Richard Linklater's animated A Scanner
Darkly, which actually got it right by not turning the premise into an action
movie. Otherwise, Hollywood's love for Dick's work began almost 25 years ago
when Ridley Scott made Blade Runner, and it continued for years as visionary
directors like Paul Verhoeven (Total Recall), Steven Spielberg (Minority
Report) and John Woo (Paycheck) all took a crack at it, with generally
varying results at the box office. Dick is such an influential and creative force
in science fiction that other filmmakers have tried their hands at exploring
similar high concept themes, and moviegoers might get a sense of déjà vu, because
this premise is one that was used as recently as last year in the aptly named
Denzel Washington and Tony Scott movie Déjà vu.
Next is based on Dick's short story "The Golden Man", written all
the way back in 1954, and the project was spearheaded by Joe Roth's Revolution
Studios before they decided to close their doors last year. It adds to the
already erratic career of Nicolas Cage who for every big hit in his resume,
has appeared in two to three misguided flops or movies that have suffered
similar problems as this one has had. (See below.) Cage's career was at its
peak in 1996 when Cage's starring role in Michael Bay's The Rock led
to back-to-back action hits the following year and a move up the ranks of
leading men, though things faltered with movies like Snake Eyes and 8MM.
In recent years, Cage has been mixing it up, doing quirky dramas like Spike
Jones' Adaptation and The Weather Man, trying his hand at horror
(The Wicker Man) and animation voicework (The Ant Bully) but
rarely do any of them do as well as his big budget action movies. That's
probably why his biggest hit to date came in late 2004 when he reunited with
Jerry Bruckheimer for Disney's National Treasure (a sequel of which
is coming out at the end of the year) and two months ago, Cage had his biggest
opening movie of his career when Ghost Rider set a new Presidents'
Day record. There's no question that Cage brings a lot of people into theatres
when he appears in action-based movies like this one, and he's particularly
hot right now, but there are a few elements working against the movie.
Next isn't solely relying on Cage, as he has two co-stars who could
help relieve him from having to do the talk show rounds himself, including
the actress many consider to be one of Hollywood's great beauties, Jessica
Biel. The "7th Heaven" star got her first leading role in the hit remake
of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but since then, she's mainly been
teamed with stronger stars that carry the weight like Jamie Foxx in the
2005 summer bomb Stealth and last year's summer sleeper The Illusionist with
Edward Norton and Paul Giamatti. Biel certainly is an actress on the rise
that could bring a lot to the table, though she usually ends up playing "the
girlfriend" which is the case here. On the other hand, Julianne Moore plays
a very similar antagonist role in this as she did in Alfonso Cuaron's future
shock film Children of Men, and though she's a well-respected Oscar
nominated actress who had a hit in 2004 with Revolution Studios' thriller The
Forgotten, she didn't have nearly as much success with her last movie
for the company Freedomland, which was directed by president Joe
Roth himself.
Cage has worked with some of the best action directors including Michael
Bay and John Woo, and Next teams him with New Zealand filmmaker
Lee Tamahori, who made his mark when he directed Pierce Brosnan's James
Bond swan song Die Another Day, followed in 2005 by Tamahori taking
over the action sequel XXX: State of the Union from Rob Cohen, which
was a disastrous bomb. The oddest thing was that just months before production
started on the movie last spring, Tamahori was arrested by L.A. police
in a transgender prostitution sting, which might have added to the problems
the movie would face later.
Originally, Next was scheduled for release by Sony, Revolution Studios'
normal distribution partner, in September of the year, but the jinx surrounding
the movie doesn't begin and end with the director's 2006 arrest. After
the movie was completed, Sony decided to put it into turnaround (i.e. drop
it like a hot potato), maybe because they were worried about another XXX:
State of the Union, wasting a lot of money on promoting a movie that
wouldn't recoup its costs.
Fortunately, Paramount Pictures jumped at the chance of snatching the movie up,
even deciding to release it five months earlier before the summer boom, though
in doing so, they dumped it into a terrible weekend where it doesn't stand a
chance of doing much business after opening weekend when facing Spider-Man
3. Maybe Paramount feels that they can at least get an easy #1 movie due
to the high-profile cast and the decent trailer, but they may have waited too
long to start promoting it and the generic title and premise probably won't do
much to entice finicky moviegoers who are probably getting sick of all the movies
with vague one-word titles of recent weeks.
Comparisons:
|
Title |
Release Date |
Theater Count |
Previous Box Office (in millions) |
Weekend Box Office (in millions) |
Average |
Total Box Office |
|
A Scanner Darkly |
7/7/06 |
216 |
$0.60 |
$1.27 |
$5,863 |
$5.50 |
|
Paycheck |
12/26/03 |
2,762 |
$5.30 |
$13.46 |
$4,874 |
$53.15 |
|
Minority Report |
6/21/02 |
3,001 |
|
$35.68 |
$11,889 |
$132.01 |
|
Impostor |
1/4/02 |
1,870 |
|
$3.02 |
$1,616 |
$6.11 |
|
Total Recall |
6/1/90 |
2,060 |
|
$25.53 |
$12,393 |
$119.39 |
|
XXX: State of the Union |
4/29/05 |
3,480 |
|
$12.71 |
$3,653 |
$26.08 |
|
Lord of War |
9/16/05 |
2,814 |
|
$9.39 |
$3,337 |
$23.28 |
|
National Treasure |
11/19/04 |
3,017 |
|
$35.14 |
$11,648 |
$169.79 |
|
Stealth |
7/29/05 |
3,495 |
|
$13.25 |
$3,792 |
$31.20 |
|
Blade: Trinity |
12/10/04 |
2,912 |
$8.42 |
$16.06 |
$5,516 |
$52.40 |
|
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre |
10/17/03 |
3,016 |
|
$28.09 |
$9,315 |
$80.15 |
|
Children of Men |
1/5/07 |
1,209 |
$1.61 |
$10.20 |
$8,435 |
$35.33 |
|
The Forgotten |
9/24/04 |
3,104 |
|
$21.02 |
$6,773 |
$66.64 |
|
Déjà Vu |
11/24/06 |
3,108 |
$8.07 |
$20.57 |
$6,620 |
$64.04 |
|
The 6th Day |
11/17/00 |
2,516 |
|
$13.02 |
$5,175 |
$34.54 |
Why I Should See It: It's important for you to see every single Nicolas
Cage movie in order to complete your collection.
Why Not: Because if you really are that one person who needs to
see every single Nicolas Cage movie, you have bigger problems than deciding
what to see over the weekend.
Projections: $11 to 13 million opening and under $30 million total.
 DIGGERS (Magnolia/HDNet
Films)
Starring Paul Rudd, Maura Tierney, Lauren Ambrose, Josh Hamilton, Shannon Barry,
Andrew Cherry, Ron Eldard, Django Gilligan, Ken Marino, Sarah Paulson, Alex Pickett,
Jonny Pickett, Scott Sowers
Directed by Katherine Dieckman (A Good Baby); Written by Ken Marino (founding
member of "The State" and co-writer of the upcoming The Ten)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Rated R
Tagline: "No one can drift forever."
Plot Summary: Two generations of Long Island clam diggers deal with the
problems facing the industry during the '70s including Hunt (Paul Rudd), whose
clam digger father just died, forcing him to reconsider his own future, while
his good friends are also facing major changes as the beds start to dry up.
Mini-Review: The most surprising thing about this sweet and poignant
dramedy is that it comes from the same mind responsible for some of the craziest
sketches on "The State" and many funny bits in Wet Hot American Summer.
Marino proves to be quite a decent screenwriter providing a poignant script
taken from his own past on Long Island, while giving a convincing performance
as a family man under tremendous stress to support them. Paul Rudd also returns
to his dramatic roots with a strong role that shows off his acting chops
with his best scenes being opposite Maura Tierney as his sister. The movie
tends to be very talky as it effortlessly blends levity with high drama,
but overall, the writing and acting are solid as the impressive ensemble
cast is able to sell this story with the only weak link being Lauren Ambrose,
who is slightly miscast as a New Yorker who Rudd's character hooks up. Thankfully,
there are enough other characters and subplots to get things back on track.
Although the movie's low budget sometimes hinders it from being visually
exciting, Dieckman does a good job recreating the era and the distinctive
setting to create a surprisingly mature film that's so full of rich characters
and situations that it will be very easy for viewers to relate to them. In
a genre that tends to be routine and formulaic, Diggers really stands
out as something personal and meaningful. Rating: 8/10
Diggers opens in select cities on Friday at the same time as premiering
on the HDNet Channel, before its DVD release on Tuesday, April 31.
 JINDABYNE (Sony
Classics)
Starring Laura Linney, Gabriel Byrne, Deborra-lee Furness, John Howard, Leah
Purcell, Stelios Yiakmis, Alice Garner, Simon Stone, Betty Lucas, Chris Haywood,
Eva Lazzaro, Sean Rees-Wemyss, Tatea ReillyDirected by Ray Lawrence (Lantana);
Written by Beatrix Christian (debut)
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Rated R
Tagline: "Under the surface of every life lies a mystery."
Plot Summary: When Stewart Kane (Gabriel Byrne) goes on a fishing trip
with three friends, they find the naked body of a dead Aboriginal girl, but instead
of immediately reporting it, they wait til they leave, causing a hailstorm of
controversy and bad blood especially between Stewart and his wife Claire (Laura
Linney), who are already having marital problems.
Of Note: Aussie director Ray Lawrence follows up Lantana with
another crime drama set in the outskirts of Australia, this one based on
the Raymond Carver short story "So Much Water So Close to Home"
Mini-Review: To a certain point, Lawrence's latest covers similar
ground as his previous film in terms of how different people react to finding
a dead body, but that subject
was already well covered in movies like River's Edge. There's something
to be said about how Lawrence transplants Carver's short story into the wilds
of Australia and uses the scenic landscape to give the film a unique tone. Unfortunately,
it takes far too long to set up the story and for things to get going, and the
movie only starts to get interesting once it starts exploring the moral issues
of ignoring the dead girl, while her aboriginal origins allow for exploration
of race relations in the region. But it never really gets too far into that territory
as the whole thing becomes derailed as it deteriorates into overly dramatic shouting
matches between Byrne and Linney, who are good up until that point. The drama
seems to be very forced and the movie lacks any sort of tonal consistency with
more than a few aggravating red herrings by delving into the mystical beliefs
of the area, but then ignoring them in favor of becoming a more obvious relationship
drama. Lawrence also uses this annoying technique of fading in and out of rather
short scenes, which detracts from the flow of the film. Either way, the movie
could have been tightened up and shortened to be a much stronger film, and it's
surprisingly unsatisfying
as a whole. Rating: 6/10
Jindabyne opens in New York and L.A on Friday.
 WIND CHILL (Sony/TriStar
Pictures)
Starring Emily Blunt, Ashton Holmes, Martin Donovan, Ned Bellamy
Directed by Gregory Jacobs (Criminal; Steven Soderbergh's long-time co-producer
and 2nd United Director); Written by Joe Gangemi (debut), Steven Katz
(Shadow of the Vampire)
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Rated R
Tagline: "There are worse things than dying."
Plot Summary: A pair of college students (Emily Blunt, Ashton Holmes)
racing home for Christmas break to try to beat a winter storm are forced off
the road into a snow bank, and as they're left stranded there, they face a night
of bitter cold and the spirits of those who had previous died in similar circumstances.
Of Note: Emily Blunt loses much of the credit she's gained from The Devil
Wears Prada with the sixth horror-thriller of the month, one that couldn't
even get a wide release.
Wind Chill opens in select regional areas on Friday.
OTHER LIMITED RELEASES:
THE LAST TIME (Destination
Films) Michael Keaton plays a salesman who falls for his business partner's
fiance, played by Brendan Fraser and Amber Valetta respectively, in Michael Caleo's
romantic dramedy set in New York.
POISON FRIENDS (Strand
Releasing) Emmanuelle (Vert Paradis) Bourdieu's second feature
film follows a group of college literary students and how two of them becomes
enamored with the brilliance, charm and success of André (Thibault Vinçon),
an arrogant student who acts as their mentor, until he mysteriously disappears.
Opens at the Cinema Village New York on Friday.
Mini-Review: While Poison Friends starts out like any other French
character drama, talky and pretentious, it's when the true André starts coming
out half hour into the movie where things start to get interesting. Besides putting
the moves on the girl he knows one of his protégé's likes, he then proceeds to
try to sabotage her writing career, and it becomes quite apparent that he's quite
a despicable person, lying to everyone about everything. That said, André really
is a great character and once we start seeing his true colors, the movie becomes
more interesting as we see him trying to dig himself out of the pit of lies he's
created around him. Bourdieu has created a solid script, but it's really the
performance by Vinçon that is likely to leave a lasting impression on the viewer. Rating: 7/10
SING NOW OR FOREVER
HOLD YOUR PEACE (Strand Releasing) A group of guys in their '30s
hope to relive the heady days of their youth by reforming their high school
glee club during a weekend in the Hamptons in Bruce Leddy's comedy which
won the Audience Award at the 2006 U.S. Comedy Arts Festival. It opens in
New York and L.A. on Friday.
Mini-Review: This is another one of those horrendous high
concept vanity projects that thinks it's way funnier than it actually
is, as it goes for the most obvious and predictable jokes in hopes
of appealing to a mass audience, with jokes that range from low-brow
to no-brow. It just gets worse and worse as they go to the Hamptons,
start gabbing openly about sex, get arrested (in order to make
the obvious anal rape jokes after singing with a scary inmate)
and then go skinny-dipping to show how wild and fun they are. Like
so many other first-time indie movies, none of the characters remotely
resemble real people, but that mostly has to do with the fifth-rate
cast of Broadway castoffs brought down further by an embarrassingly
bad performance by Molly Shannon that's likely to erase any good
will she might get forYear of the Dog. The original title
of "Shut Up and Sing" might have been more appropriate, because
every time anyone talks, you want to slap them upside the face.
If you like glee club music or Manhattan Transfer, you might
be able to enjoy it for the soundtrack. If you don't, you'll just
be gritting your teeth through the whole thing, because otherwise,
it's one of the most grueling movies of the year. Rating: 2.5/10
TA RA RUM PUM (Yash
Raj Films)- The latest from Bollywood is this romantic comedy about a pit
crew mechanic (Saif Ali Khan) who gets his chance to be a race car driver
and after falling for a music student (Rani Kuherji), he becomes one of the
biggest race car drivers until an accident sidelines their dreams.
ZOO (THINKFilm)
- Robinson Devor's controversial documentary examines the case
of a Seattle family man who died in a Washington State hospital
after an incident that brought to light a secret community of zoophiles
that were exploring the taboos bestiality with horrifying results.
Having debuted at the Sundance Film Festival, it opens at New York's
IFC Center on Wednesday.
Mini-Review: It's really hard to recommend this movie because the subject
matter is so jarring and disturbing that it's not something anyone would deliberately
want to watch or know about unless they're really curious. Knowing more details
about the cause of the death might give people intrigued the premise the wrong
impression or turn them off completely, but it subtly dodges the issues and keeps
things rather vague for a good half hour, mixing voiceover testimonials and recreations
to set the mood, but then, it shows a graphic scene that's likely to shock anyone
who might be lulled into a false sense of the movie's true intentions. You do
have to give credit to Devor who does a fine job collecting the facts and interviews
into a presentation that's both beautiful and artistic, in large part due to
gorgeous and ever present ambient score by Paul Matthew Moore. Frankly though,
listening to these depraved zoophiles trying to explain and justify what they
do is enough to make your skin crawl, and it's hard to have any sympathy, when
you realize that the real victims of this tragic story are the unwitting horses
who were abused by the group. It's even worse when you have to watch a horse
being gelded, something I certainly never felt the need to have to see. Zoo certainly
is an inventive use of the documentary format to examine a bizarre case of deviant
sexual behavior, but it's not something you will want to experience more than
once. Rating; 7/10
Next week, the month of May and the summer movie season kicks off
with a little film called… Spider-Man 3! Also,
Curtis Hanson's poker romance Lucky You, which might
have the unluckiest opening weekend competition ever.
Copyright
2007 Edward Douglas
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